Just By Chance
by miyuki-chan16
Summary: They always met by slim coincidence. But they always enjoyed the other's presence. After one memorable night, he wants her to stay with him this time forever. SasuHina TwoThreeShot.
1. Ch 1: The Dawn of Something New

Disclaimer: Don't remind me that I don't own Naruto tearsniffle

AN: Story starts off when cast is like eight or nine years old. Right after the Uchiha massacre.

Just By Chance 

The new year: a chance to start things all over again. A time to leave all past troubles behind and to look forward to what the new year will hold. Hinata always enjoyed it this time of the year.

As a small child, her mother had told her that if someone makes a wish at the moment of the first sunrise of the new year, it was sure to come true. So at every end of each year, Hinata would head deep into the forest; more specifically, her favorite tree in the forest.

It was the largest one that lies deep within the thicket of the trees. Here is where the fireflies would gather, the stars shone bright, and was the clearest view of the sunsets and sunrises. Each time, she would climb up and sit on a high branch and watch the rise of a new year. And Hinata would wish and hope for a bright future.

Hinata would hope that this time, she would impress her father and finally earn respect from her clan. She hoped that this year, she could change. That she could change herself and become stronger; become the person she wanted to be. And secretly, Hinata would wish that a certain boy would look in her direction.

Every year it went like this. And every year ended like the one before: in deep disappointment. Even still, Hinata never let this discourage her high hopes for the upcoming year. She fully believed in her late mother's words. Someday, her wish would come true, she knew that. All she had to do was wait for it.

OoO

A small girl, hidden in the shadows, quickly crept into the dark forest. The child ran and ran until an immense tree trunk came into view.

"H-happy New Year, fr-friend!" the child replied to the tree with a meek, shaky voice. Small hands did quick work as they carried her up the plant. Once at the right spot, the young girl sat down on a very thick and wide branch. The sky was still dark; still new to the world.

_It'll be morning soon_, the child thought excitedly. Then suddenly, muffled sniffles and whimpers were coming from right beneath her.

"Eep!" Hinata squeaked when she heard someone climbing up the tree; her special tree. She leaned over the side to see who it was, but it was still too dark for her to properly see anything. As she leaned over a bit further, her forehead collided with the other person's head.

"Ow, that hurt," a young boy's voice rang out.

"O-oh, I'm sorry," Hinata quickly apologized. She then heard the boy gasp. After a few moments, he began climbing back down the tree.

"Pl-please wait! I didn't mean to hurt you!" she rushed out, grasping his arm with her small hand. As soon as she did, the boy quickly swatted her away.

"I don't need to waste my time with more stupid girls!" he mumbled. Hinata tilted her head to one side in confusion.

"W-what do you mean? Who a-are you?" she earnestly asked. The boy snorted in return.

"Like you don't already know," he accused.

"Huh?" she replied, "I-it's still really dark. I can't see," she tried explaining. The boy sighed.

"Duh, it's Uchiha Sasuke!" he told her in an annoyed tone.

"O-oh. Nice to m-meet you Uchiha-san. I'm Hyuuga Hinata," she said politely.

"Why do you call me 'Uchiha-san'?" Sasuke asked.

"Isn't that your n-name?" Hinata answered innocently.

"Yea, it's just that – oh never mind," he sighed. Silence filled the awkward-coated air.

"Ano, Uchiha-san?" Hinata stuttered, her cheeks flushed, "W-would you like t-to watch the f-first sunrise w-w-with me?" she squeaked out with difficulty.

"Wha-what?!" Sasuke blurted out suspiciously.

"Well, I th-thought that's w-why you came here," she started to shrink back.

"No!" he shot, "It's just that my mother used to say that if you watch the first sunrise of the new year, you're wish will come true," Sasuke grumbled out.

"That's what m-my mother used to say too!" Hinata exclaimed cheerfully. Sasuke looked at her strangely.

"You're a strange"—

"Ooh, ooh, look!" Hinata pointed to a distant mountain. "Can you see it? It's about to be dawn!"

Sasuke turned his head to the direction she was pointing at. Just above the hills, the first signs of daybreak began to spill over the trees. Hinata clasped her hands together and shut her eyes.

"Quick!" she told Sasuke, "Make a wish!" He glanced over at Hinata who was deeply concentrating on her hopes and dreams for the future. Sasuke then looked back at the sunrise.

_I wish that I'll get enough power to kill my brother so I can avenge my clan_, Sasuke wished.

"I hope your wish comes true," Hinata whispered. Sasuke turned back towards her to find Hinata looking back at him. With the new light, it was then he was finally able to see a clear picture of what Hyuuga Hinata looked like.

Hinata's pearl eyes were sparkling brightly at him with gentleness and hope. A small, kind smile was painted on her face. And her bob-cut hair shone in the thin light. Sasuke found himself gawking at her.

Hinata then took a deep, content breath of the fresh air and stood to her feet.

"W-well, I sh-should probably get home now," she explained. As she turned to climb down, Sasuke hesitantly stopped her.

"Wait!" he called out. Hinata turned back around to face him. "Could you, uh, stay with me for a while?" Sasuke asked, lowering his head to abstract her view of his flushed cheeks. _I don't wanna be alone right now_, he thought.

Hinata's eyes grew bright again and her cheeks grew a little pink. "Sure!" she agreed, nodding her head with a big smile. Hinata walked back over next to Sasuke and sat down beside him.

Not too long after, both children were fast asleep. Hinata's head had fallen upon his shoulder, and Sasuke's head was lying over hers. Dreams of future goals being fulfilled were in their heads. A feint smile apparent on both of their lips.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

3 or 4 years later…

"Oi, teme, where are you going?" Naruto yelled out to his teammate. Sasuke was walking away from both his teammates and the training grounds.

"To get away from you obviously. I'm done here," he mumbled.

"Oh! Um, Sasuke-kun, can I walk with you?" Sakura asked with anticipation. Sasuke ignored her offer and walked away with more speed.

Naruto and Sakura watched their friend's retreating figure grow small in the distance. Sakura hung her head in disappointment.

"Neh, Sakura-chan, don't worry. When that old man retires, I'll be the new Hokage and then you can go out with me!" Naruto exclaimed cheerfully. Sakura just sighed in defeat and walked away from her bubbly teammate.

"Oi! Sakura-chan! Wait for me! SAKURA-CHAN!!!" he called out to her as he followed.

OoO

_Those two are complete idiots_, Sasuke thoughts as he wandered the streets of the village. His feet shuffled on the ground beneath. A deep sigh escaped his lips. _There's nothing to do in this village. And what of that Orochimaru? I f I go with him, would I really get—stop thinking about that Sasuke! This is where you belong. Here in Konoha. **A place where you'll never obtain enough power to kill that man… **I must stop thinking about that Sanin._ Sasuke shook his head and clenched his eyes shut. His shoulder felt like it was on fire. The pain was excruciating and he felt like screaming in pain.

Without even noticing where he was going due to the curse mark, Sasuke ran clear into the person passing by. The knock made him reopen his eyes slightly but sent the other person flying into the ground.

_GAWD, everyone in this village is in the way!_ His thoughts yelled.

"A-ah, gomen ne!" the meek voice of the person apologized.

"Hn, whatever!" he snapped. Sasuke turned to walk away, but the searing pain was tearing at his shoulder. He painfully yelled out this time and collapsed to his knees while clutching his burning shoulder, his eyes shutting tightly again. _I can't stand this!_

"Uchiha-san?" he heard a girl call out his name, but he couldn't answer it. The pain was just too much. He then felt two small fingers press firmly on the point where the mark was. Almost instantly, the pain began to dissipate.

_What just happened?_ He thought, his eyes slowly beginning to open. _The pain, it's, it's gone?!_

"A-are you all right now, Uchiha-san?"

Sasuke quickly looked up to see the girl's face. As his vision stopped blurring, he saw his reflection in very large, concerned white eyes.

"A Hyuuga?" he thought aloud. He then began to see the bigger picture. The tip of his nose was touching the smooth skin of the nose of a very red Hinata. Actually, he was practically sprawled on her lap.

As if on cue, Sasuke instantly got off of her with the hints of embarrassment on his cheeks. Hinata, too, stood back up and dusted herself up. Both stayed quiet, taking in both of their actions.

_What's this girl's name again? Oh, yea, something like Hinata, right?_ Sasuke wondered.

"I'm very s-sorry, Uchiha-san," the young heiress whispered. The Avenger looked back at the shy girl before him. "Y-you see, I was carrying some sh-shopping bags and I wasn't looking where I was g-going. It's m-my fault, I apologize," she finished with a small bow.

The boy looked down at her feet, and sure enough, there were three VERY large paper bags filled with groceries and things. They looked heavier than her! And bigger!

"You're the heiress of the Hyuuga or whatever, right?" he coldly replied. Hinata looked back up and met Sasuke's eyes. "Why not let them go shopping?"

Still shocked that the last surviving Uchiha was even talking to her, Hinata still held a surprised expression on her face. Once that faded, Hinata began to giggle and look down at the ground very embarrassed.

_Don't tell me she's another fan girl,_ Sasuke began to grow annoyed.

"W-well, Uchiha-san, they **do** do that. But I st-still like to buy f-food for my family," she giggled out with a pink face. Sasuke cocked an eyebrow up at her answer, but nonetheless accepted it. "N-now, if you'll pl-please excuse me, I have to get these b-back." Hinata bent down and reached for the three bags on the ground.

Sasuke watched in slight amusement at her difficulty of the situation. She had two of them in her right arm and the other in her left. This caused a shift of the weight in her arms. And apparently, it was impossible to see past the bags because they towered above her head in front of her face. Well, Hinata could see through them with her Byakugan, but it was still difficult for her to walk.

_I'll give her three steps_, Sasuke thought as her watched her struggling figure walk away. _Three … Two … One …_ One of the bags in Hinata's right arm started slipping away from her grasp.

"A-AH!" she gasped as it slipped out completely. Before it hit the ground, a quick hand shot out and caught the falling bag. She followed the up the arm and found that its own was the mysterious Avenger.

"Th-thank you Uchiha-san!" she sighed with relief. With out a word, Sasuke took the other bag from Hinata's left arm. So now, Sasuke was carrying two of the three, one in each arm. "O-oh, that won't b-be necessary Uchiha-san! I can h-handle th—"

"Which way?" he cut her off. Hinata began to pout, but seeing his stern face, she knew that she couldn't talk her way through this one; she really did need help, she just wasn't used to getting any. The look on Hinata's face made Sasuke want to laugh, but it would be too out of character for him, so he held in the urge.

So the two made the walk to the Hyuuga manor in complete silence. It was quite awkward for both of them. They both were still wondering what they were doing in the company of someone they hardly knew. They had never talked to each other in the academy and they had never really met –

_Right?_ They thought at the same time.

Then it dawned on Hinata. She had previously met the Uchiha prodigy.

"New Years," she mumbled aloud. Sasuke heard her say this and questioned what she was thinking.

"It's still a long months away," he finished.

"H-huh?" she looked at him confused.

"New Years, it won't be for a while."

"O-oh no, that's n-not what I meant," she said with embarrassment, "I-it's just that I j-just remembered… oh never mind," she trailed off. _I can hardly remember that meeting. There would be no way he could._

"Hn," he shrugged off.

They continued walking only this time; it seemed to take even longer. The two heirs passed by a small pond on the way during the lowering sun. Hinata paused to look at the sight. After a few moments, Sasuke noticed that she had stopped walking. He tried figuring out what she was staring at for her to stop so suddenly. He looked in the same direction and caught a glimpse of the water's surface.

The sun's golden rays were dancing atop the water. It sparkled and rippled in the soft, warm receding glow.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Hinata mentioned.

"Hm," Sasuke answered. Then the small heiress turned to look at the Uchiha. Her soft, lavender eyes were gently glimmering in the golden light. A serene smile brushed upon her lips. And her short, navy-blue hair shone in the sunset. _I could have sworn I've seen this before,_ the boy thought. "Yea, beautiful…"

"Well, w-we should keep go-going," Hinata continued. A few more minutes passed by and the prodigy felt like he was going insane.

_Okay, there would be no way she would be able to carry these things this far,_ he thought. Sasuke's thoughts were lately causing him much trouble. _And what's taking so long? This way back is taking forever! Plus…_ Sasuke glanced over at the quiet Hyuuga; _I know I've seen her like that before. But when?_

Slowly, as if the hands of the clock were winding back in time, he remembered that time. Long ago, on New Years, the new year after his clan was murdered, Sasuke had met Hinata. It was for such a short time and it was so long ago that he had completely forgotten.

"Aa," he let out.

"Hhmmm? Did you s-say something Uchiha-san?" Hinata asked.

"Nothing, it was nothing…"

"Oh, okay," she kept to herself.

Before long, they stood before the gates of the Hyuuga manor. Hinata opened the gate and pushed it open further. She then politely took the bags from him and stepped through and closed the gate again. But before she could turn and head towards the door, Sasuke stopped her.

"Hold on Hinata," he called out to her. She turned back around at his response and stared at him with questioning eyes. "I, uh…"

"Y-yes, Uchiha-san?" Hinata asked innocently.

"Call me by my first name. 'Uchiha-san' makes me sound old," he coldly went off the subject. _That's not what I meant to say._

"Um, okay," she answered. Hinata opened the front entrance and was once again about to step inside. But –

"Look, Hinata," he felt his ego crumble at his feet. The heiress once again turned to gaze at the Avenger. "I'll… I'll be looking forward to the first sunrise of the upcoming new year."

Suddenly, Hinata's eyes lit up with excitement. _He does remember!_ She thought. A bright smile arose on her face.

"Hai, I will too, Sasuke-kun," she confessed while blushing. A tiny force tugged at the corners of Sasuke lips at the sight of her warm smile. And then the shy heiress slipped inside the door.

Sasuke remained at the gate for a few moments before walking back to his own home with a smirk on his face. _I guess today wasn't so bad. And who knows, maybe the future sunrise doesn't seem so far…_

Yet they never saw each other on that day – later on in the year that he and Hinata had met once again, Sasuke left to gain power with Orochimaru. And when the morning of the new year did come, Hinata hoped with all she had that somehow, someday, Sasuke would come back…

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

AN: It's just something I cooked up with my cousins on New Year's Eve. This might be either a TwoShot or ThreeShot, depending on how tired I get of typing. So the next chapter might not be here for a while. And I'm still awfully sorry that I wasn't able to update my other story Someone To Hold. It's coming, I promise, you just need to be a little more patient. I won't abandon it cause everyone has told me otherwise not to. It should be here by Valentine's Day at the latest. Plus you never know, maybe I'll make the new chapter have the M rated part in it, as a "thank you" for being so patient. Anyway, R&R to let me know what you think of my little story, ja ne!!!


	2. Announcement

To all the "Just By Chance" readers:

I'm sorry to announce that I won't be UPDATING this story until the end of my school year: june 1st.

I know that I did not get all that into this story, but my schedule keeps me so busy that I am unable to finish it.

Once again, sorry for the delay.

…


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